Features


Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre staff with GCA awards
STAFF at garden centres across the Wales & West region are celebrating after scooping awards during a presentation evening at Castle Gardens this week (Tuesday, July 23, 2019). Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and The Old Railway Line Garden Centre scooped the award in the Garden Centre (GC) category. Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “Our Wales & West regional awards meeting was a huge success and we’d like to thank all those who attended. It was great to hear our GCA Inspector, Michael Cole…

Sipcam Home & Garden Logo for Glee 2019
Leading environmentally-friendly plant care brand ecofective® will feature its rapidly expanding portfolio at Glee 2019, showcasing the latest generation of natural feed, weed and pest control products that cater for the UK’s growing band eco-friendly consumers and organic gardeners. Ecofective® has experienced strong demand throughout 2019, with sales driven by consumers seeking effective green alternatives to conventional fertilisers and pesticides. The retail ban on metaldehyde-based slug pellets has strengthened the market for natural slug controls, with the company poised to showcase…

Little boy watering plants in Haskins Garden Centre after taking part in the colouring competition
Haskins launches colouring competition of garden scene to encourage children to enjoy gardening Leading garden centre group, Haskins Garden Centres, is delighted to announce the launch of a new Garden Gang colouring competition in time for the summer holidays. The colouring sheet template can be downloaded and printed for free from the Haskins website www.haskins.co.uk/garden-gang or picked up in any of the Haskins centres from Monday July 15. To enter the competition, the sheet needs to be coloured and submitted via email to yourphotos@haskins.co.uk or posted on Facebook with the tag @…

Zaquarella Greeting Cards
In the digital age, sending personalised messages in the form of cards and letters is becoming more important. There is something special about receiving a handwritten card or letter: An experience that cannot be replicated through an electronic message, email or social media.    Launched back in 2011 by Keith and Rachel Dickson, award winning Zaquarella have been designing and manufacturing a range of stunning greeting cards of the highest quality.    Initially the company began by providing artwork on a commission basis but they came to wider prominence when they were involved in the…

Thorndown Paints to be used in garden design
Garden design is a fascinating and complex job with extensive knowledge required of plants, hard landscaping, irrigation, lighting, soil and micro-climates, and of course, a flair for design is essential. The use of colour in garden design creates a space unique to the owner, whether it be the use of soft pretty pastels for a country cottage feel, or cool greys for a more modern look. A country cottage theme can be enhanced by painting garden sheds or objects in pretty pastel wood paint shades. Planting will obviously provide the basis for a colour palette but painting boundary fencing,…

Bayliss Autovents Unit
One of the biggest challenges for greenhouse gardeners in the summer months is regulating the temperature inside. Ventilation is the key – and it is made much easier with Bayliss Autovents. When the sun is shining, temperatures inside the greenhouse shoot up, sometimes to 40-50°C if left unchecked – far too hot for most plants. Ventilation the greenhouse by opening the door, louvre and roof vents stops the interior temperature rising too high by encouraging air circulation. When temperatures fall again, on cloudy days or during cooler evenings, close the vents to help maintain the warmth…

Formbar trolley
Formbar are trolley and basket specialists – it is all we do. We know it is the last task on your list but if you don’t have the right solution to suit your store and brand then your customers can not bring their purchases to your till. The better the basket or trolley the more the customers buy as they fill it to the top. So call us today to discuss your specific needs and we will have the right solution for you. When speaking to Garden Centre owners and managers I realised they have a unique set of concerns when compared to other retailers.  Indoor and Outdoor sales areas with a variety…

A selection of Sarah Kelleher Cards
Sarah’s interest in pattern and design goes right back to her childhood when living in the sleepy Cotswold village of Naunton  where she’d draw and create clothing to keep herself amused. She made a pencil skirt at the age of about seven that her parents allowed her to wear on the train to visit her grandparents. By the time she arrived at Temple Meads Station, to the horror of her rather posh Grandma it had fallen apart !“  Undeterred and with the encouragement of her family she carried on making. A seminal moment was when a Junior School teacher, Miss Pentecoste, chose the bookmark Sarah…

Power of One logo
Power of One is a new initiative being adopted by Glee to highlight the impact we each have on the environment. Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, the campaign seeks to demonstrate how a combination of small, individual changes can create a more sustainable future for all. At Glee, exhibitors and visitors will be encouraged to make a pledge, committing to making one small conscious change to reduce their impact upon the environment and the world in which we live. Pledges could include anything from promising to recycle more, choosing…

Indoor playground at garden centre
How much fun can you pack into an indoor playground just 7.5-metres long and 1 metre deep? Leaps and bounds of fun, if you’re Playscheme! We created the Leaping Platforms Play Centre at Nailsworth Garden Centre in Gloucestershire to include loads of smart interactive sensor features. Light, sound and sight are key elements of this bespoke indoor playground, and we worked alongside Sound Leisure on features that help children aged two to 12 explore their senses through their imagination and creativity. Star of the show is a large interactive Perspex®light and sound “waterfall”, complete…

Family gardening at Greenfingers Garden 'Let's Explore'
The ‘Let’s Explore’ Greenfingers garden opens at Richard House Children’s Hospice  Greenfingers Charity was delighted to be joined by children, families and supporters at the official opening of the charity’s latest garden project at London’s first children’s hospice, Richard House, on Thursday 27th June 2018.   Greenfingers Charity was delighted to be joined by five-year old Myles along with parents Jerry and Myra at the grand opening. In the glorious sunshine, Myles, along with Dan and charity Patron Ann-Marie Powell planted a magnolia tree to celebrate the “Let’s Explore” Garden, the…

Scheurich logo
Retailers seeking products of the future and the latest in-store merchandising ideas need look no further than the Retail Lab at Glee. Now in its third year, this inspirational feature area, in association with the Horticultural Trades Association, is bursting with ideas. In fact, 61% of Glee’s visitors say they will attend Glee 2019 as a result of seeing the Retail Lab last year. Here, we meet one of the sponsors of this year’s feature – the German pot, container and plant accessories manufacturer Scheurich, which is eager to demonstrate its latest creations when the Retail Lab throws open…

Why Brits Are Ditching the Lawn Mower - artificial grass
Artificial grass sales are booming, with one retailer* reporting a growth of 20% already this year – before the summer season has even begun. Last year thousands of British lawns were scorched, while this year homeowners are tackling boggy and muddy lawns due to heavy rainfall. For many, lawn maintenance is a costly headache, and of course there are those that just want to ditch the lawn mower so there is one less chore around the home. The team at Ultimate Grass (www.ultimategrass.co.uk) carried out a survey to really unearth why so many homeowners are opting to fake it, swapping…

Meadow View Stone logo
Retailers seeking products of the future and the latest in-store merchandising ideas need look no further than the Retail Lab at Glee. Now in its third year, this inspirational feature area, in association with the Horticultural Trades Association, is bursting with ideas. In fact, 61% of Glee’s visitors say they will attend Glee 2019 as a result of seeing the Retail Lab last year. Here, we meet one of the sponsors of this year’s feature, Meadow View Stone, who brings over 25 years’ experience of supplying the widest range of imported and exclusive decorative aggregates and landscaping stone…

Lechuza Orchid next to window
As the seasons change, so do your houseplant’s needs. Indoor vegetation is heavily affected by outdoor changes, so to ensure your plants bloom all through the summer, now is the time to start preparing for the upcoming season. Though some sun-loving plants like succulents and cacti are well adapted to high temperatures, plants that are kept indoors are not acclimated to the extremes of a summer heat wave. Leafy tropicals are particularly susceptible to damage from heat, and if too severely damaged, might not recover. There’s plenty you can do in advance of and during the summer months to…

Wyevale Nurseries - Agapanthus plant
ONE OF THE UK’s leading nurseries has this month (June, 2019) entered two new plants in to the New Plant Awards at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) National Plant Show.  Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, has submitted Salvia ‘Amante’ and Agapanthus ‘Poppin Purple’ to the event, which takes place on June 18 and 19 at Stoneleigh Park in Coventry. Andy Johnson, Managing Director of Wyevale Nurseries, said: “The New Plant Awards at the HTA National Plant Show are sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and showcase the best in new plant introductions from UK…